Energy metabolism is the transformation of energy that accompanies biochemical reactions in the body. Energy metabolism is often reduced or impaired in animals, particularly aging animals, postmenopausal animals, or animals experiencing health or other problems that cause a reduction in energy metabolism. See, Roberts et. al., Nutrition and Aging: Changes in the Regulation of Energy Metabolism With Aging, Physiol. Rev. 86: 651-667, 2006. In such animals, energy expenditure associated with physical activity and basal metabolic rate generally decreases. Such reduced or impaired energy metabolism often results in increased fat deposition and reduced muscle mass. This occurs even though food and energy intake remain the same. This result increases the risk of many chronic diseases such as type II diabetes, hyperlipidemia, arteriosclerosis, and hypertension; lowers the animal's quality of life; and reduces the animal's life-span.
A number of compositions have been proposed to address the regulation of energy metabolism, including isoflavones (U.S. Patent Application No. 20110165125), pharmaceutical drugs like tetrahydrolipstatin (U.S. Pat. No. 6,004,996), and compositions that modulate the SIRT1 and AMPK pathways (U.S. Patent Application Nos. 20100210692, 20100009992, 20070244202 and 20080176822). Also, shotgun compositions that include a variety of known agents that facilitate regulation of energy have been described (U.S. Patent Application No. 20080220092). Despite this, there still remains a need for effective compositions and methods for safe regulation of energy metabolism.